New Intel chip design shown

follows AMD lead

August 20, 2008

Intel Corp. cracked the lid on a new chip design that is at once a big challenge to smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and an admission that AMD nailed a key design feature before it slipped into a severe financial slump.

Intel, the world's largest computer chip manufacturer, showed off the blueprint, known as a microarchitecture, for its chips at a conference in San Francisco.

Intel plans to build a part called an integrated memory controller, which moves information between the microprocessor and the computer's memory, directly into the processor itself.

That's a key change because processors are asked to do more and more, and any lag in communication can hurt performance. AMD has been incorporating integrated memory controllers into its processors.